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South Carolina Counties

South Carolina is made up of fourty-six counties. They range in size from 392 square miles (1,016
square kilometers) in the case of Calhoun County to 1,358 square miles (3,517 square kilometers) in the case of
Charleston County. The least populous county is McCormick County, with only 9,958 residents, while the most
populous county is Greenville County, with a population of 395,357, despite the state's most populous city,
Columbia, being located in Richland County.

Etymology - Origin of Pickens County Name

Demographics:

Pickens County History

Pickens County was named for Revolutionary War hero Andrew Pickens (1739-1817). This area in the northwestern corner
of the state was Indian territory until 1777. It subsequently became part of Pendleton District (at one time called
Washington District). In 1826 Pendleton was divided into two counties, Pickens and Anderson; the western portion of
Pickens County was later split off to form Oconee County (1868). The earliest European settlers in this region were
Indian traders. The British built Fort Prince George around 1753 as protection against the Indians, and the fort was the
site of several battles in the Cherokee War of 1756. The Cherokee town of Old Seneca was later destroyed by American
troops in 1776. John C. Calhoun (1782-1850), US Vice President, Senator, and cabinet member, made his home at Fort
Hill plantation in Pickens County. His son-in-law, Thomas Green Clemson (1807-1888), bequeathed the plantation to the
state for use as an agricultural college, which led to the founding of Clemson University.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 512 square miles (1,326 km2), of which, 497
square miles (1,287 km2) of it is land and 15 square miles (39 km2) of it (2.92%) is water.